Ferruginous Hawk, Buteo regalis
Ferruginous are the largest North American hawks, imposing birds deserving of their species name, "regalis." They inhabit the drier regions of the American west, where trees tend to be scarce, and they are often seen perched on the ground, usually at a distance making them hard to photograph. They are never common, but can be found in winter in the interior valleys of the Coast Range in California, where I have photographed them. The species has two color forms (morphs), the much more common being the light morph shown above, with light underparts and mostly light head, as contrasted with the dark feathering on the head and underparts of the dark morph, below.
Both birds shown above are adults, with the feathers that cover their lower legs dark; the same feathers are white in the bird below, marking it as a juvenile.
The pictures above and the two below show the reddish upperpart feathering mixed
with brown that gives the species its common name (ferruginous = rusty).
The bird above had an injured leg, hence the display of the taloned foot at an odd
angle.
